Recently the National Center for Family Philanthropy hosted “Telling Your Story to Maximize Community Impact,” a webinar focused on social media tools foundations can use to lift up grantees, deepen community connections and advocate for causes.

Social Media May Deepen, Won’t Replace, RelationshipsFamily foundations have traditionally been slow to take advantage of social media, but recently that has been changing. Foundation staff now have a better understanding of the transformative power of social media and of its effectiveness in reaching current and potential grantees, other stakeholders and the public at large.

Communicating via social media is not going to replace personal relationships and connections built over time, but it offers additional ways to broaden and deepen relationships.

Here are some recommendations from panel members about how to make meaningful connections via Twitter, currently the leading social media tool used by foundations to connect with stakeholders:

Follow those who are relevant to a particular focus area and those who you would like to follow you

Engage in conversations, stay active and monitor Twitter regularly

Link to content and research — your own and content from others that is of interest

Broaden your audience by starting, engaging in and continuing conversations you might not have otherwise

Advocate: Use Twitter to push an agenda and increase exposure

Grow the conversation: Twitter is most effective if your initial tweet is carried into other networks with a response. (Consider using less than 140 characters in an original tweet, so replies can include that and the response. Just seeing responses isn’t as effective.)

At The McKnight Foundation (an MCF member), adoption and evolution of social media use has been a deliberate process. McKnight is currently active on Twitter, Facebook and Vimeo, and it launched a blog in June 2013.

Engaging, Rather Than Surprising, Board MembersWolford has involved the family board at every turn, and she stresses the importance of engaging them in the process rather than surprising them with it. McKnight started on this path due to its belief in the importance of transparency and its conviction that the community, grantees and other stakeholders deserve to know what McKnight is doing and the impact of its work.

Sharing Ideas McKnight has leveraged social media tools to increase impact in its focus areas. McKnight’s goal is less about promoting McKnight and more about sharing ideas and learnings as it does the work. Staff who use social media (especially the blog) understand that the platforms present an opportunity to bring the voice of the staff to the forefront to share knowledge and perspectives. It has been an evolution not a revolution.

Questioning EffectivenessAt McKnight there’s a spirit of learning and experimentation accompanied by a rigorous tracking of the effectiveness of its social media communications. McKnight is constantly experimenting to see what works and is always asking, “What’s the audience? What are the goals of the communication? What’s the best tool to achieve the objectives?”

Those are questions we should all continue to ask ourselves as social media tools evolve and can be used to broaden our relationships.

During discussions of diversity in philanthropy, family grantmakers sometimes get frustrated. Their thoughts may immediately turn to: “Our board members are family, how can we be diverse?”

No matter your family’s DNA or your foundation’s charter, it is possible (and desirable) to diversify the demographic make-up of your governance structure. But beyond that, your family foundation can embrace diversity and inclusion in virtually all other areas of your work, too.

Diversity Within and Beyond the Family
Families grow and change not only with births, but also with marriages. When Kimberly Myers married into the Hewlett family, she joined an already diverse Flora Family Foundation board. The Flora’s may have started out looking like a typical White family, said Myers, but when family members brought their partners into the board room, culturally rich international and multi-racial perspectives were brought to the table.

But even if family members don’t become more diverse, foundation boards can deliberately choose to add non-family voices to the governance mix. Vic De Luca described how the daughters and granddaughters of the founder of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation deliberately expanded the board in the mid-1980s. The goal was not so much about increasing racial and ethnic diversity but about including varied viewpoints and life experiences.

Of 16 people on the board, nine are non-family. DeLuca described how the board composition has created an increasingly rich operation that works well with the grantee community.

Said De Luca, “Broadening our board has not changed our DNA. You can still maintain that sense of family – just expand your definition.” It’s about, he added, expanding your knowledge to be better grantmakers.

Embracing Diversity Not Just about Demographics
De Luca provided ample evidence of how changing board perspectives – and other intentional actions – led to tangible changes in the composition of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation grantees (see graphic).

He commented on how inclusion is infused in everything the foundation board and staff does – their language, practices, advocacy and more. Here is how diversity is explicitly called out in the organization’s strategic plan:

We seek out organizations led by people of color and/or working in low income communities. We support efforts to develop the leadership skills of, and foster the participation by, low income people and people of color.

(At the Minnesota Council on Foundations, we have articulated that holistic view in our Diversity Framework, which describes how philanthropists can embrace diversity and inclusion in their four primary roles as: grantmakers, employers, business entities and community citizens.)

Resources to Use at Your Own Pace
All the NCFP panel members encouraged family foundations to move at their own pace, following their own values. Deborah Santana encouraged families to be conscious and open, and to make use of the rich array of available resources.

Judy Belk concluded by saying, “The diversity on the road ahead may look like a huge mountain, but don’t feel like it’s insurmountable.”

Join the conversation: As a philanthropist, think about your roles as funder, employer, business entity and community citizen. What one step can you take today to intentionally address diversity, inclusion or equity in your work?